INTRODUCED LAND SNAILS AND SLUGS IN COLOMBIA

Twelve species of introduced land molluscs, including seven slug species, have been found in the cold zone above 2000 m altitude in the Departamentos Cundinamarca and Boyacá, and the Distrito Especial in Colombia. The introduced land molluscs remain generally restricted to disturbed environments, from which native species are often absent. Most recorded species originated from Europe. Deroceras laeve has been present in Colombia for more than a century, whereas the other species are probably more recent introductions. The records of Boettgerilla pallens, which is indigenous to the Caucasus and has spread over Europe only during the last decades, demonstrates that the process of introduction of alien molluscs is continuing.